Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IAU vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAU returned +2.7% to XBI's +41.2%, and IAU charges 0.25% to XBI's 0.35%.
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Net assets: $60.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Gold Trust, and $10.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.
Pair scorecard
IAU costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 38.5 points; IAU is 5.9 times larger.
| Measure | IAU | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.7% | +41.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 24.6%, high on Jan 29, 2026 | |
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.25% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $60.3bn | $10.3bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 13% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 18% | |
Risk and return
Feb 17, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,079 weekly returnsXBI returned more: +817.9% to +582.7%. IAU swung less: 17.5% to 29.2%. IAU fell less at its worst: −44.4% to −61.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IAU | XBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +582.7% | +817.9% | XBI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.7% | +11.3% | XBI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +582.7% | +767.9% | XBI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 29.2% | IAU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.0% | 20.0% | IAU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.4% | −61.5% | IAU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.52 | 0.45 | IAU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.75 | 0.66 | IAU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.22 | 0.18 | IAU | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,079 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
IAU and XBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAU and XBI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IAU follows Gold and XBI follows Biotech.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IAU returned +2.7% and XBI +41.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 38.5 points.
- Cost. IAU charges 0.25% of assets a year and XBI 0.35%, a gap of 0.10 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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Its expense ratio is 0.25% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.
IAU holds gold. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +2.5% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
XBI
By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Are IAU and XBI in the same category?
- IAU is a commodity ETF and XBI is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, IAU or XBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAU returned +2.7% and XBI +41.2%.
- Which is cheaper, IAU or XBI?
- IAU is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
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ETFIQ, IAU against XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IAU against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-xbi
[IAU against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iau-vs-xbi)
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